Experts from IIT Madras and Roorkee’s Central Building Research Institute are testing three pillars to check if they are strong enough to hold the weight of the entire structure.

The Trust, formed to facilitate the temple construction, had earlier said the entire structure was expected to be built by January in 2023.“The ongoing work of piling will continue till October 15. Work on 1,200 pillars and stones will start between October 15-20. Our plan is that we will finish it by March-June next year. After the pillars are complete and we are satisfied with their strength, we will start building a six-foot high platform on which the temple will be stand. The first floor is expected to be complete by 2022. However, things do not always go as per the plan, and it all depends a great deal on the speed of the work,” said Mishra, adding that a security wall around the pillars would also come up simultaneously.He added that the Trust did not want to rush as its plan was to build a grand temple which would keep Ayodhya at the centre of Hinduism and survive more than 1,000 years.According to the temple map sent to the Ayodhya Development Authority, the structure spread over 12,879.30 square metres will have a 30-metre wide approach road. Of the total area, 2,628.50 sq mt has been earmarked for the temple, 7,343.50 sq mt for the ground floor corridor, 1,850.70 sq mt for the first floor, and 1,056.60 sq mt for the second floor. The height of the temple will be 49.24 metres or over 161 feet.